Position-based decision to provide service

ABSTRACT

A service may be provided to a set of people when the people satisfy a proximity criterion. In one example, that set of people comprises users of a particular application and/or registrants with a particular system. A location monitor may determine people&#39;s location based on position data received from those people&#39;s devices (which may be obtained pursuant to appropriate permission in order to respect the device owners&#39; interest in privacy). When the location monitor determines, based on people&#39;s positions, that a proximity criterion has been satisfied, the location monitor may cause a service to be provided that would not otherwise have been provided if the proximity criterion had not been satisfied. By providing additional service when a proximity criterion is satisfied, a reward in the virtual world is used to encourage people to gather in the physical world.

BACKGROUND

People are social beings, and they are increasing melding socialinteractions with computer technology. Social media such as Facebook andTwitter exist specifically to foster social interactions among people.However, even computer activities that were once considered stand-aloneactivities now tend to have a large-scale social component. In the past,a video game was something that one or two people played on a singledevice, such as a game console, handheld game player, or cell phone.Games now are often played between many networked participants, some ofwhom may be quite distant from each other and may not have met in reallife.

Social media, online multiplayer games, and other technologies allow aform of social interaction between participants who may be ingeographically diverse locations. However, the ability of computers tofoster interaction among people who are not near each other has, in manycases, made the geographic proximity seem irrelevant. While it sometimesappears as if a person's virtual existence is so comprehensive as tosupplant his or her corporeal existence, there remain situations inwhich people's physical proximity to each other is relevant.

SUMMARY

An application, or an online provider of service, may leverageinformation about people's proximity to each other by changing theservice that is being provided when a sufficient number of people gathersufficiently close together. In one example, the system may receive dataconcerning people's location. (In order to preserve users' privacyinterests, the system may obtain appropriate permission before gatheringinformation about a person's location.) When a pre-defined number ofpeople have come into sufficiently close proximity to each other, thesystem may provide a service that would not otherwise be provided. Whenpeople disperse, the service may be removed. The act of providing anadditional service could take any appropriate form—e.g., delivering anonline service or data, or unlocking a feature on a client device thathad not previously been usable by the user of that device. In somecases, a progressively larger number of services, or progressivelyintense versions of the same service, may be provided as a larger numberof people gather in a given physical area.

The service that can be provided when people gather could be anyappropriate type of service. In one example, the people are paying (orare registered to play) a game on their handheld devices, and—when asufficient number of people come into proximity—a feature of the gamemay be unlocked. Examples of such features include a new villain, a newweapon, a temporary condition in which a given set of actions causesmore points to be scored, or any other type of feature appropriate to agame. However, the service that may be provided is not limited to gamingscenarios. In another example, detecting a sufficient number of shoppersin a given store might unlock a coupon for an expensive item in thatstore, in which case the coupon is the service to be provided. Thepresence of a larger number of shoppers in that store might unlock anadditional coupon, or might increase the monetary value of the coupon.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-3 are a block diagrams of examples in which people are withinvarious levels of proximity to each other.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example process of providing a servicebased on a set of people's proximity to one another.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example system in which proximity-basedservices may be provided.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of example components that may be used inconnection with implementations of the subject matter described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Many social interactions that, in the past, would have taken place in aface-to-face setting, now take place electronically. People used to meetin person to talk. In some cases they still do, but in many casesconversations have been moved to online media such as Facebook, instantmessaging systems, e-mail, etc. Similarly, people used to gather to playgames. Prior to electronic games, physical proximity was often arequisite for playing the game (with certain exceptions such as games ofcorrespondence chess). However, even in the case of early video games,multiple players generally gathered around a single game console to playthe game. Now, game consoles (and other devices, such as phones, onwhich people play games) are networked, thereby allowing people who arequite distant from each other to play the game together.

While networking of devices has made physical proximity seem irrelevantin many cases, there still remain situations in which proximity remainsrelevant. There is something about the synergy of having a severalpeople in one place that cannot be matched by having the same peopleinteract with each other online. It has become common to view the onlinecommunication as replacing actual get-togethers. However, systems thatfacilitate on-line interaction can be used to encourage people to gathertogether, rather than to replace such gatherings.

The subject matter described herein uses online systems to encouragesuch gathering. The system provides, in the form of additional services,incentives for people to gather in physical proximity to each other. Aspeople move around, their location may be tracked and reported back to alocation monitor. (Since people have a privacy interest in theirlocation, the tracking of people's locations may be done pursuant toappropriate permission obtained from those being tracked. E.g., uponregistering for a service, people may be asked if they would like toreceive additional service in exchange for providing information abouttheir location, and may be given the chance to opt out of the service.)When the location monitor detects that a sufficient number of peoplehave gathered in sufficient proximity to each other, it may provide aservice that would not otherwise be provided. If an even larger numberof people gather, then an additional service (or a more intense versionof the previously-provided) service may be provided. As people disperse,the service may be scaled back or removed. The people whose proximity isbeing monitored may be people who have already expressed an interest inthe system that is providing the service. E.g., the people may beregistered users of an online game, so the provision of an extra gameservice (such as an additional villain or other type of challenge, anadditional weapon or other type of tool, or a change in scoringstructure) may be of interest to those people. Thus, the prospect ofgetting an additional service may be a sufficient incentive to encouragethose people to gather in proximity to each other. In this way, themonitoring of locations, combined with the provision of additionalservices as a reward for proximity, may be a way to encourage those whointeract online to gather in real life.

The service that is provided as a reward for proximity may be providedin various ways. In one example, the underlying system that people areusing to interact with each other is a “software as a service” type ofsystem, which may be delivered as a cloud service. In this case, thesoftware that the users are experiencing is executed at a centralapplication server, in which case the server can simply “turn on” thatfeature and start delivering it to the participants by allowingparticipants to interact with the service over a network. In anotherexample, participants execute client side software. In this case, theadditional service can be provided as an extension module that isdelivered to, and installed on, the client when a sufficient number ofproximal participants trigger the service. Or, the service might alreadybe available on the client side software in a locked form, in which casethe provision of an extra service might be performed by delivering anunlock code or unlock instruction to the client. Any appropriatemechanism could be used to deliver an additional service. Removing theservice upon dispersal of the participants could be performed by ceasingto execute the service at the central server (in the case of a cloudservice), or instructing the clients to “re-lock” or discontinue use ofthe service (in the case where the service is executed by client-sidesoftware).

There are various types of services that could be provided. Theparticular type of service may depend on the context in which the usersare interacting. The following are some example scenarios, although itwill be understood that a service to be provided as a reward forproximity could be provided in any appropriate context.

In one example, users are registered participants of an online game, andthey interact with each other in the gaming world. The game mightinvolve scoring points by slaying real and/or fictional villains withreal and/or fictional weapons. In such a context, an additional servicemight involve providing an additional villain to slay, or an additionaltype of weapon with which to slay the villain, an increase in the damageinflicted by an existing weapon, or an increase in the number of pointsto be obtained by making certain types of hits on the villain. Thus, ifseveral players gather within one square mile of each other, the newvillain might be made available to only those players. Those playersthen interact with each other to slay this particular villain, therebyhaving—by virtue of their physical proximity to each other—a differentplaying experience from the thousands of other players who do not happento be in that square mile. If more players come within the same area asthe players who are experiencing the additional service, the servicemight be intensified—e.g., the villain might become stronger or harderto defeat, thereby making play more interesting for the playersinvolved. In other words, the players receive a more interesting playingexperience because of their proximity to each other, and thus have anincentive to encourage like-minded game players to gather in real life.

While gaming is one example in which a service could be provided as areward for proximity, it is not the only example. In another example,the service to be provided might be commercial in nature. For example,viewers of a cooking television show might download the show'sapplication onto their smart phones. The show might feature a recipewith a pricey ingredient. If a sufficient number of viewers of the showare together in a store at one time (where viewers might be identifiedas being those people who have installed the show's application on theirphone), then a coupon for a discount on that ingredient might bedelivered to their phone. (Or, in another variation, the participantsmight be sent a message telling them to gather at a particular place inthe store to pick up a paper coupon, thereby encouraging fans of thecooking show to meet each other in person.) Having a larger number ofpeople gather in the store might cause the monetary value of the couponto increase, which is an example of intensifying the service. Theprospect of getting a coupon based on the number of fans of the cookingshow who are in the store (or the prospect of increasing the value of anexisting coupon) may cause people to contact their friends and encouragethem to come to the store. Encouraging people to come to the store notonly fosters face-to-face interaction between like-minded fans of thecooking show, but also increases the store's business by bringing morepeople to the store.

The foregoing are some examples of how online interaction may be used toencourage people to gather in person. However, the subject matter hereinis not limited to these specific scenarios, and may cover anyappropriate scenario.

Turning now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-3 show examples in which people arein various levels of proximity to each other. FIG. 1 shows a geographicarea 100. There may be several people in geographic area 100. Forexample, FIG. 1 shows people 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, and 112. There maybe people in geographic area 100 other than the six people 102-112 whoare shown. However, for the purpose of deciding whether to provide aservice as a reward for proximity, the people who are considered arethose who are users of a particular application and/or registrants witha particular system. For example, people 102-112 might be registeredplayers of an online game, or people who have installed the cookingshow's smart phone app as described above. Although the notion of a“geographic area” is not limited to any particular size or scale, forthe purpose of illustration FIG. 1 shows a one mile scale marker,thereby indicating how far apart the people in FIG. 1 are from eachother.

In the example in FIG. 1, people 102-112 are considered to besufficiently distant from each other that no additional service isoffered to them. Of course, these people might receive the ordinarylevel of service for which they are registered—e.g., if they areregistered to play a game, then they may still receive the service ofbeing able to play the game. However, the game might not offer them anadditional service, such as an additional villain (or other type ofchallenge) or weapon (or other type of tool) or increase in score (orother change in the scoring structure), because the people are notsufficiently proximate to one another.

FIG. 2 shows the same set of people 102-112 in the same geographic area100 as are shown in FIG. 1. However, in FIG. 2 people 102-112 havemoved, thereby bringing some of them into sufficient proximity to eachother. In FIG. 2, people 104, 106, and 108 have moved into aone-square-mile contiguous region 202 of geographic area 100, therebytriggering the provision of service 204. Since it is the proximity ofpeople 104, 106, and 108 who have triggered the provision of service204, people 104-108 may be the sole recipients of service 204. However,in another example, service 204 could also be provided to people otherthan people 104-108. For example, person 102 (who is not in region 202)might receive service 204 as a way of promoting the idea of proximityrewards to that person. (E.g., person 102 might be a person who has notexperienced proximity-based rewards before, so service 204 might beprovided to person 102 as a way of advising person 102 of the type ofservices he could receive in the future by gathering with other people.)

FIG. 2 shows an example in which a service is triggered when peoplewhose location was being tracked, but who previously were not closeenough to each other move closer to each other. However, a service couldalso be triggered by the addition of new people. For example, FIG. 3shows the same geographic area 100 that is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.However, in addition to showing people 102-112, FIG. 3 also shows people114, 116, and 118. People 114-118 may have wandered into geographic area100, or may be people who were already in geographic area 100 but whohave just installed the same application that people 102-112 are using(thereby newly allowing those people to be counted for the purpose oftriggering proximity-based services), or who have just registered withthe system with which people 102-112 are registered. As shown in FIG. 3,people 104 and 106 have wandered outside of region 202, but people114-118 are now within region 202. Thus, in FIG. 3, people 104 and 106no longer receive service 204, but people 114-118 do receive service 204(and person 108, who remains within region 202, continues to receiveservice 204).

Triggering the provision of a service involves a minimum number ofpeople being within sufficient proximity to each other. In the exampleof FIGS. 1-3, “sufficiently proximate” is being within the sameone-square-mile area, and “sufficient number of people” is three peoplewithin that area. Thus, in the example of FIGS. 1-3, service 204 isprovided as long as at least three people are in region 202 (or in asimilarity sized region somewhere else in geographic area 100). However,the notion of “sufficiently proximate,” or the notion of whatconstitutes a “sufficient number of people,” could be defined in anyappropriate manner. Moreover, it is noted that the example of FIGS. 1-3are not limited to any particular type of service; the service 204 to beprovided could be any type of service, such as a new villain, weapon, orscoring system for a game (as described above), a new coupon for acooking ingredient (as also described above), or any other type ofservice.

FIG. 4 shows an example process of providing a service based on a set ofpeople's proximity to one another. Before turning to a description ofFIG. 4, it is noted that the flow diagram contained in FIG. 4 isdescribed, by way of example, with reference to items shown in FIGS.1-3, although these processes may be carried out in any system and arenot limited to the scenarios shown in FIGS. 1-3. Additionally, the flowdiagram in FIG. 4 shows an example in which stages of a process arecarried out in a particular order, as indicated by the lines connectingthe blocks, but the various stages shown in FIG. 4 can be performed inany order, or in any combination or sub-combination.

At 402, positional data is received. For example, devices carried bypeople may self-report their location to a position monitor, where thedevice determines its location through the Global Positioning System(GPS), triangulation, or some other mechanism or technique. (In order topreserve the expectation of privacy of the people who hold the devices,transmission of position information may be done pursuant to appropriatepermission and consent obtained from the person who carries the device.)The position data may indicate where the device that is transmitting theposition data is physically located.

Based on the positional data that has been received, it is determined at404 whether there are people who meet an applicable proximity criterion.As discussed above, a proximity criterion generally has two components:the size of a geographic area in which multiple people could appear, andthe number of people who would have to appear in that area in order totrigger the provision of a service. Thus, an example proximity criterionmight say that a new service is triggered if at least three peopleappear in the same one-square-mile region. If the proximity criterion isnot met, then the process returns to 402 to continue to receivepositional data.

If the proximity criterion is met, then activation of the new servicehas been triggered, so the process continues to 406 to activate thatservice. Examples of services that may be activated are a game feature416 (e.g., a new villain), or a commercial offer 418 (e.g., a coupon),as described above. As noted above, there are two groups of people forwhom a service can be activated: people who “contribute” to activation(block 408), and other people (block 410). People who “contribute” toactivation are those whose proximity to each other satisfies theproximity portion of the triggering criterion. For example, if threepeople all move into the same one-square-mile region, then those threepeople have “contributed” to activation. If a fourth person (or fifthperson, or sixth person, etc.) also moves into that one-square-mileregion, then that person (those people) will also be considered to have“contributed” to activation. (If the criterion for activation is thatthree people be in the same one-square-mile region, then technicallyactivation can occur without the fourth person. However, when thatperson moves into the region, he meets the geographic portion of theproximity criterion, and is thus considered to be a contributor.)“Other” people are those who do not meet the proximity criterion. Asnoted above, although the subject matter herein may be used to encouragephysically proximate gathering of people, a system might want to delivera service to a person who does not meet the proximity criterion as a wayof promoting proximity-driven services to people who might not be awareof them.

After the service has been activated, at 412 it is determined whetherthe proximity criterion continues to be met. If the proximity criterioncontinues to be met, then the process returns to 412 to determine,continually, whether the proximity criterion is being met. When it isdetermined that the proximity criterion is no longer being met (e.g., ifthere are no longer three people in the same one-square-mile region),then the service that was provided at 406 is deactivated (at 414), andceases to be provided.

FIG. 5 shows an example system in which proximity-based services may beprovided. A plurality of mobile devices 502, 504, 506, and 508 may becarried by people. Some example detail of one of the mobile devices(device 502) is shown. Example device 502 may be a wireless telephonehaving a display 510, a keypad 512, an antenna 514 (through whichinformation may be transmitted and received), a microphone to receiveaudio input, a speaker to provide audio output, a position sensor 519such as a GPS receiver, and any other type of components appropriate forsuch a device. Device 502 may also have a processor 516 and a memory518, in order to allow device 502 to store and execute software. Forexample, device 502 may store and execute an application program, andthat application program may have one or more features that can belocked and/or unlocked. While FIG. 5 shows detail only for device 502,devices 504-508 may have the same or similar features to those shownand/or mentioned above for device 502.

Devices 502-508 may use their respective position sensors to determinetheir location, and may each transmit position data indicative of theirrespective positions back to a location monitor 528. In particular,devices 502, 504, 506, and 508 transmit position data 520, 522, 524, and526, respectively, to location monitor 528. Location monitor determineswhether a proximity criterion 530 has been met with respect to any ofthe devices whose position is being monitored. If such a proximitycriterion 530 has been met, then location monitor 528 communicates withan application server 532 to provide an indication that the proximitycriterion has been met, and to indicate which devices contribute tomeeting the proximity criterion. Application server 532 may thenprovide, to those devices that contribute to meeting the proximitycriterion 530, a service 534 that would not otherwise have been providedif the proximity criterion 530 has not been met. For example, theproximity criterion might be that two devices are within some distanceof each other (e.g., 500 feet). Thus, in the example of FIG. 5,application server 532 provides service 534 to devices 506 and 508,since those devices contribute to meeting proximity criterion 530.Service 534 may be provided in various forms. For example, if service534 is part of an on-line “cloud-based” application, then applicationserver 532 may provide service 534 by executing a program to providethat service on application server 532, and by allowing those devices onwhich the service is to be provided to interact with that program. Inanother example, service 534 may exist as a locked feature in anapplication that is stored on devices 502-508, in which case providingservice 534 may be performed by providing an unlock code or unlockinstruction to those devices on which service 534 is to be provided.

FIG. 6 shows an example environment in which aspects of the subjectmatter described herein may be deployed.

Computer 600 includes one or more processors 602 and one or more dataremembrance components 604. Processor(s) 602 are typicallymicroprocessors, such as those found in a personal desktop or laptopcomputer, a server, a handheld computer, or another kind of computingdevice. Data remembrance component(s) 604 are components that arecapable of storing data for either the short or long term. Examples ofdata remembrance component(s) 604 include hard disks, removable disks(including optical and magnetic disks), volatile and non-volatilerandom-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory,magnetic tape, etc. Data remembrance component(s) are examples ofcomputer-readable storage media. Computer 600 may comprise, or beassociated with, display 612, which may be a cathode ray tube (CRT)monitor, a liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor, or any other type ofmonitor.

Software may be stored in the data remembrance component(s) 604, and mayexecute on the one or more processor(s) 602. An example of such softwareis position-based service provision software 606, which may implementsome or all of the functionality described above in connection withFIGS. 1-5, although any type of software could be used. Software 606 maybe implemented, for example, through one or more components, which maybe components in a distributed system, separate files, separatefunctions, separate objects, separate lines of code, etc. A computer(e.g., personal computer, server computer, handheld computer, etc.) inwhich a program is stored on hard disk, loaded into RAM, and executed onthe computer's processor(s) typifies the scenario depicted in FIG. 6,although the subject matter described herein is not limited to thisexample.

The subject matter described herein can be implemented as software thatis stored in one or more of the data remembrance component(s) 604 andthat executes on one or more of the processor(s) 602. As anotherexample, the subject matter can be implemented as instructions that arestored on one or more computer-readable storage media, or on one or morecomputer-readable storage memories. Tangible media, such as an opticaldisks or magnetic disks, are examples of storage media. The instructionsmay exist on non-transitory media. Such instructions, when executed by acomputer or other machine, may cause the computer or other machine toperform one or more acts of a method. The instructions to perform theacts could be stored on one medium, or could be spread out across pluralmedia, so that the instructions might appear collectively on the one ormore computer-readable storage media, regardless of whether all of theinstructions happen to be on the same medium. It is noted that there isa distinction between media on which signals are “stored” (which may bereferred to as “storage media”), and—in contradistinction—media thattransmit propagating signals. DVDs, flash memory, magnetic disks, etc.,are examples of storage media. On the other hand, wires or fibers onwhich signals exist ephemerally are examples of transitory signal media.

Additionally, any acts described herein (whether or not shown in adiagram) may be performed by a processor (e.g., one or more ofprocessors 602) as part of a method. Thus, if the acts A, B, and C aredescribed herein, then a method may be performed that comprises the actsof A, B, and C. Moreover, if the acts of A, B, and C are describedherein, then a method may be performed that comprises using a processorto perform the acts of A, B, and C.

In one example environment, computer 600 may be communicativelyconnected to one or more other devices through network 608. Computer610, which may be similar in structure to computer 600, is an example ofa device that can be connected to computer 600, although other types ofdevices may also be so connected.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A device for selectively deciding toprovide a service, the device comprising: one or more processors; and aprocessor-readable storage device, that stores executable instructionsto provide a service, the executable instructions, when executed by theone or more processors, causing the one or more processors to performacts comprising: receiving position data from a plurality of devices,said position data indicating where said plurality of devices arephysically located; first determining that a set of said plurality ofdevices satisfies a proximity criterion, which is a threshold localdensity amongst said devices in a contiguous region; based on said firstdetermining, providing said service to users of devices in said set andto at least some of the users of devices that are not in said set, saidservice not being provided when said proximity criterion is not met;during the providing, second determining that an additional one of theplurality of devices satisfies the proximity criterion; after saidsecond determining, intensifying said service; after said providing,third determining that said proximity criterion is no longer being met;based on said third determining, ceasing to provide said service; andsaid users being people who have registered to play an on-line game, andsaid service being a challenge, a tool, or a scoring structure that isnot used by said on-line game when said proximity criterion is not beingmet.
 2. The device of claim 1, said proximity criterion comprising aminimum number of said plurality of devices being within a distance ofeach other, or within an area of a particular size.
 3. The device ofclaim 1, said service being a cloud service that executes on anapplication server, said act of providing said service comprisingallowing said users of devices in said set to interact with said serviceon said cloud server.
 4. The device of claim 1, said service being aclient-side service that exists on said devices in a locked form, saidact of providing said service comprising providing, to devices in saidset, an unlock code or unlock instruction to unlock said service.
 5. Thedevice of claim 1, said users being people who have downloaded aparticular application.
 6. The device of claim 1, said service beingpart of a cloud service, said users being people who have registered touse said cloud service.
 7. A method of providing a service, the methodcomprising: using a processor to perform acts comprising: receivingposition data from a plurality of devices, said position data indicatingphysical locations of said plurality of devices; determining that a setof said plurality of devices satisfies a proximity criterion, saidproximity criterion being based on a minimum number of devices in saidset being within a physical distance of each other, based on saiddetermining, providing said service to users of at least some of theplurality of devices, including those in said set and at least one usernot in said set, said service not being provided to said users when saidproximity criterion is not met; during the providing, amplifying theservice when an additional one of the plurality of devices is determinedto satisfy the proximity criterion; and said users being people who haveregistered to play an on-line game, and said service being a challenge,a tool, or a scoring structure that is not used by said on-line gamewhen said proximity criterion is not being met.
 8. The method of claim7, said service being a cloud service that is implemented on anapplication server, said providing of said service comprising allowingsaid users of devices in said set to interact with said service on saidapplication server.
 9. The method of claim 7, said service being aclient-side service that exists on said devices in a locked form, saidact of providing said service comprising providing, to devices in saidset, an unlock code or unlock instruction to unlock said service. 10.The method of claim 7, said determining that said set of devicessatisfies said proximity criterion considering only devices on which aparticular application has been installed.
 11. The method of claim 7,said service being part of a cloud service, said determining that saidset of devices satisfies said proximity criterion considering onlydevices of users who have registered to use said cloud service.
 12. Adevice for participating in receiving a service, the device comprising:a memory; a processor; an antenna through which said device receives andtransmits information; a position sensor; and software that is stored insaid memory and that executes on said processor, said software causingsaid device to transmit said device's position, as reported by saidposition sensor, to a location monitor that receives position data froma plurality of devices, including said device, said location monitordetermining whether to provide said service to a user of said devicebased on whether a set of said plurality of devices meet a proximitycriterion, said location monitor causing said service to be provided tosaid user and to other users of other devices when said proximitycriterion is met, said location monitor causing said service to cease tobe provided to said user when said proximity criterion ceases to be met,wherein, during the providing, the provided service is intensified whenan additional one of the plurality of devices is determined to satisfythe proximity criterion, wherein said proximity criterion comprising aminimum number of devices being within a distance of each other, orwithin an area of a particular size; and said location monitor, indetermining whether said proximity criterion has been met, consideringthose devices that are registered to play an on-line game, said servicebeing a challenge, a tool, or a scoring structure that is not used bysaid on-line game when said proximity criterion is not being met. 13.The device of claim 12, said service being a cloud service that executeson an application server, application service providing said service tosaid user by allowing said device to interact with said service on saidcloud server.
 14. The device of claim 12, said service being aclient-side service that exists on said device in a locked form, saidlocation monitor causing said service to be provided to said device bycausing an unlock code or unlock instruction that unlocks said serviceto be sent to said device.
 15. The device of claim 12, said locationmonitor, in determining whether said proximity criterion has been met,considering those device on which a particular application has beeninstalled.
 16. The device of claim 12, said service being part of acloud service, said location monitor, in determining whether saidproximity criterion has been met, considering those device whose usershave registered to use said cloud service.
 17. The device of claim 1,wherein said service is an additional service that supplements a servicealready provided to said devices, and wherein, in said providing, saidadditional service is provided to each of said devices that caused saidproximity criterion to be satisfied even when a device leaves thecontiguous region so long as said proximity criterion is still beingmet.